In an International Herald Tribune column asking "Is Europe's welfare system a model for the 21st century?" Katrin Bennhold contends that, as the world's economic elite gather in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum, there is decidedly less Europe-bashing than in years past. After the global financial shake-out of the past year, she wonders, "Could Europe's much-reviled social welfare system actually end up being the model for the 21st century world?"

In the United States, the global stock market rout has wiped out trillions of dollars in retirement savings and rising unemployment is leaving more people without health insurance. In response, officials of the new administration of President Barack Obama have been busy studying the Swedish bank bailout of

Fed chair Ben Bernanke's gave a speech yesterday at the London School of Economics which noted that, while "more capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets," other tools will need to be deployed.

James Fallows in this month’s Atlantic brings a Chinese view to the global financial crisis and planned U.S. economic stimulus plans. Based on an interview with the President of the China Investment Corporation, Gao Xiquing, China offers some words of wisdom to the incoming Obama administration as it attempts to restart the U.S. economy—be nice; remember your pragmatism; and live within our means.

News that Senate Republicans killed the bailout of the Big 3 U.S. auto companies has set stocks tumbling around the world. In the major European papers available in English, we're seeing headlines like "World markets slump as US car industry bail-out fails" (Guardian), "US car industry set to collapse as bailout fails" (Times of London)

Figures published Wednesday on China's economy show the country doing worse than the World Bank previously anticipated, boding poorly for China's chances of avoiding the global downturn as well as for the West's hopes of possible bailout assistance from Asia.

Tomorrow, leaders of the top industrialized countries and the key emerging economies that make up the G20 will meet in Washington for a Global Economic Summit. This meeting is a critical first step towards international coordination in addressing the current financial crisis. The agenda will include topics ranging from the rewriting of specific financial regulations to the restructuring of global institutions such as the G8 and the IMF. Although expectations are low for any major agreement at this meeting, it must at least set the agenda for further high-level economic conferences expected once the new U.S. administration is in place.